Incentives & support

Finding people with the right skills for your business can be difficult. Have you considered taking on people facing barriers to employment? The government offers a range of funding and incentive schemes for businesses that support people with a disability, Indigenous Australians, the long term unemployed and the mature-aged. For further information on available incentives and support services see the tables below.

General incentives

In the table below you will find a list of general incentives and support services available to employers hiring people facing barriers to employment.

Name	Description	Administering agency
Employer Demand Demonstration Projects	Grant funding for businesses that develop innovative ways of recruiting, employing and retaining employees that are parents, mature aged, the very long term unemployed and people with a disability.	Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR)
Employer Support Payment (ESP) Scheme	The ESP Scheme provides financial assistance to eligible employers to help offset the costs of releasing employees for most categories of Australian Defence Force service.	Department of Defence
Work Experience Placement programme (WEP)	The WEP programme covers the personal accident and general liability insurance costs of businesses with job vacancies who offer work experience to disadvantaged job seekers.	Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR)

Hiring people with a disability

In the table below you will find a list of incentives and support services available to employers hiring people with a disability.

Name	Description	Administering agency
Auslan for Employment Programme	Provides education and training to support new deaf employees, and existing deaf employees who use Auslan.	Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR)
Disabled Australian Apprentice Wage Support	Provides ongoing support and assistance for employers who currently employ an apprentice with a disability and has been assessed as a person requiring assistance.	Australian Apprenticeships
JobAccess	JobAccess provides employers with information on employing people with a disability, including hiring, incentives, training and work strategies.	Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR)
Supported Wage System (SWS)	SWS is a process that allows eligible employers to pay less than the minimum wage by matching a person's productivity with a fair wage.	Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR)
Wage Subsidy Scheme	The Wage Subsidy Scheme offers financial assistance to employers of a person with a disability or someone who may be experiencing other barriers to employment. It helps pay wages in the first few months of employment.	Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR)
Workplace Modifications Scheme (WMS)	The WMS provides financial support for costs involved in modifying the workplace or purchasing special or adaptive equipment for eligible and existing employees with a disability.	Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR)

Hiring Indigenous Australians

In the table below you will find a list of incentives and support services available to employers hiring Indigenous Australians.

Name	Description	Administering agency
Corporate Leaders for Indigenous Employment Project (CLIEP)	CLIEP offers flexible packages of funding to companies to develop Indigenous employment strategies and practices.	Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR)
Indigenous Portal	The Indigenous portal website lists a number of Australian Government programs and services available to help Indigenous Australians and their employers.	Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA)
National Indigenous Cadetship Project (NICP)	NICP provides grants to businesses that provide work experience, professional guidance or ongoing employment to full-time Indigenous tertiary students. The grant is to help employers to support cadets with a living allowance and study-related costs and offset employer adminstration costs.	Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR)
Structured Training and Employment Projects (STEP)	STEP provides funding and support to private sector businesses that provide ongoing employment to Indigenous Australians.	Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR)
Wage Assistance	Wage Assistance is a payment given to Australian employers as an incentive to employ Indigenous Australians on an on-going basis. Wage Assistance offers salary subsidies for full-time and part-time work.	Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR)

Hiring the long term unemployed

In the table below you will find a list of incentives and support services available to employers hiring the long term unemployed.

Name	Description	Administering agency
NeedStaff	NeedStaff provides information on initiatives and incentives available to employers providing people on income support with job opportunities.	Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR)
Wage Assist	Wage Assist is a wage subsidy program available to employers who provide on-going, full-time (or employment that is sufficient to take the job seeker off benefits) work opportunities for Very Long Term Unemployed (VLTU) job seekers.	Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR)

Hiring mature aged workers

In the table below you will find a list of incentives and support services available to employers hiring mature aged workers.

Name	Description	Administering agency
JobWise	JobWise provides information and employer support regarding potential mature age employees.	Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR)
Mature Age Employment and Workplace Strategy (MAEWS)	MAEWS provides information and services for employers of mature aged workers.	Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR)
Mature Aged Worker Incentive	Provides businesses with incentives for employing and training mature aged apprentices.	Australian Apprenticeships